CUET History Syllabus 2026

Students who want to take admission in UG courses like B.A. History (Hons), BSW, B.A. Sociology, B.A. Archaeology, etc., through CUET must select History as one of their domain subjects. The CUET History Syllabus plays a key role in helping students prepare better. The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the CUET exam every year in over 300 cities in India and abroad. The CUET 2026 History exam is expected to be held in the second week of May 2026. The detailed CUET UG History syllabus will be available on the official website – cuet.nta.nic.in. Students must stay updated with the official website. Check this article for the direct link to download the syllabus PDF.

CUET History Syllabus 2026

To get admission in top Central Universities for a BA in History, students must appear for the CUET UG exam. This exam is divided into three sections—Sections 1A and 1B for languages, Section II for domain subjects, and Section III for the General Test. History is included in Section II. 

The History paper has 50 compulsory questions and is conducted in online mode. Students get 60 minutes to complete the exam. To score well, it’s important to follow the official syllabus and understand the paper pattern. The table below gives all the key information about the CUET UG History syllabus and exam format to help you prepare smartly.

CUET UG History Syllabus - Topics

The CUET UG History syllabus helps students easily understand the most important events, famous leaders, and big changes that shaped our past. It covers everything from ancient to modern times in a simple and clear way. With this syllabus, students can learn how history has developed over the years and why it matters today. It’s a great guide for building strong historical knowledge.

• The Story of the First Cities: Harappan Archaeology
• Political and Economic History: How Inscriptions tell a story
• Social Histories using the Mahabharata
•  A History of Buddhism: Sanchi Stupa
• Medieval society through Travellers’ Accounts
• Religious Histories: The Bhakti-Sufi Tradition
• New Architecture: Hampi
• Agrarian Relations: The Ain-i-Akbari
• The Mughal Court: Reconstructing Histories through Chronicles
• Colonialism and Rural Society: Evidence from Official Reports
• Representations of 1857
• Colonialism and Indian Towns: Town Plans and Municipal Reports
• Mahatma Gandhi Through Contemporary Eyes
• Partition through Oral Sources
• The Making of the Constitution

CUET UG History Exam Pattern 2026 [Updated]

All the students who have recently cleared their class 12th with the Arts stream and are now willing to take the CUET UG exam to get admission to the topmost central, deemed, state, and private universities can check the detailed CUET Exam Pattern for History in the table shared below:

CUET UG Detailed Unit-Wise History Syllabus 

The CUET UG History syllabus consists of 15 easy-to-follow units, specially designed for students who wish to pursue History after Class 12. It covers a wide range of topics from Ancient, Medieval, to Modern Indian History. Key areas include Harappan Civilization, Mauryan Empire, Bhakti-Sufi traditions, Colonialism, Indian National Movement, and more.

Each unit helps students understand the social, political, economic, and cultural aspects of different historical periods. With a clear unit-wise structure, the syllabus makes it easier to plan your preparation and score well in the exam. Students can check the full CUET UG History syllabus unit-wise in the table below.

Unit I: The Story of the First Cities Harappan Archaeology

• Broad overview: Early urban centres.
• Story of discovery: Harappan civilization.
• Excerpt: Archaeological report on a major site. Discussion: how it has been utilized by archaeologists/historians

Unit II: Political and Economic History: How Inscriptions tell a story

• Broad overview: Political and economic history from the Mauryan to the Gupta period.
• Story of discovery: Inscriptions and the decipherment of the script. Shifts in the understanding of political and economic history.
• Excerpt: Asokan inscription and Gupta period land grant.
• Discussion: Interpretation of inscriptions by historians.

Unit III: Social Histories using the Mahabharata

• Broad overview: Issues in social history, including caste, class, kinship, and gender.
• Story of discovery: Transmission and publications of the Mahabharata.
• Excerpt: From the Mahabharata, illustrating how it has been used by historians.

Unit IV: A History of Buddhism: Sanchi Stupa

• Broad overview:
  (a) A brief review of the religious histories of Vedic religion, Jainism, Vaisnavism, and Saivism.
  (b) Focus on Buddhism.
• Story of discovery: Sanchi Stupa.
• Excerpt: Reproduction of sculptures from Sanchi. Discussion: Ways in which sculpture has been interpreted by historians and other sources for reconstructing the history of Buddhism.

Unit V: Medieval Society Through Travellers’ Accounts

• Broad Overview: Outline of social and cultural life as it appears in travellers’ accounts.
• Story of their writings: A discussion of where they travelled, why they travelled, what they wrote, and for whom they wrote.
• Excerpts: from Alberuni, Ibn Battuta, Bernier.
• Discussion: What these travel accounts can tell us and how they have been interpreted by historians.

Unit VI: Religious Histories: The Bhakti-Sufi Tradition

• Broad Overview:
  (a) Outline of religious developments during this period.
  (b) Ideas and practices of the Bhakti-Sufi saints.
• Story of Transmission: How Bhakti-Sufi compositions have been preserved.
• Excerpt: Extracts from selected Bhakti Sufi works.
• Discussion: Ways in which these have been interpreted by historians.

Unit VII: New Architecture: Hampi

• Broad Overview:
  (a) Outline of new buildings during the Vijayanagar period — temples, forts, irrigation facilities.
  (b) Relationship between architecture and the political system.
• Story of Discovery: Account of how Hampi was found.
• Excerpt: Visuals of buildings at Hampi.
• Discussion: Ways in which historians have analysed and interpreted these structures.

Unit VIII: Agrarian Relations: The Ain-i-Akbari

• Broad overview:
  (a) Structure of agrarian relations in the 16th and 17th centuries.
  (b) Patterns of change over the period.
• Story of Discovery: Account of the compilation and translation of Ain-i-Akbari.
• Excerpt: From the Ain-i-Akbari
• Discussion: Ways in which historians have used the text to reconstruct history.

Unit IX: The Mughal Court: Reconstructing Histories through Chronicles

• Broad Overview:
  (a) Outline of political history c. 15th-17th centuries.
  (b) Discussion of the Mughal court and politics.
• Story of Discovery: Account of the production of court chronicles, and their subsequent translation and transmission.
•  Excerpts: from the Akbarnama and Padshahnama.
• Discussion: Ways in which historians have used the texts to reconstruct political histories.

Unit X: Colonialism and Rural Society: Evidence from Official Reports

• Broad overview:
  (a) Life of zamindars, peasants and artisans in the late 18th century.
  (b) East India Company, revenue settlements and surveys.
  (c) Changes over the nineteenth century.
• Story of official records: An account of why official investigations into rural societies were undertaken and the types of records and reports produced.
• Excerpts: From Firminger’s Fifth Report, Accounts of Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, and Deccan Riots Report.
• Discussion: What the official records tell and do not tell, and how they have been used by historians.

Unit XI: Representations of 1857

• Broad Overview:
  (a) The events of 1857-58.
  (b) How these events were recorded and narrated.
•  Focus: Lucknow.
• Excerpts: Pictures of 1857. Extracts from contemporary accounts.
• Discussion: How the pictures of 1857 shaped British opinion of what had happened.

Unit XII: Colonialism and Indian Towns: Town Plans and Municipal Reports

• Broad Overview: The growth of Mumbai, Chennai, hill stations, and cantonments in the 18th and 19th centuries.
• Excerpts: Photographs and paintings. Plans of cities. Extract from town plan reports. Focus on Kolkata town planning.
• Discussion: How can the above sources be used to reconstruct the history of towns? What these sources do not reveal.

Unit XIII: Mahatma Gandhi Through Contemporary Eyes

• Broad Overview:
  (a) The nationalist movement 1918-48,
  (b) The nature of Gandhian politics and leadership.
• Focus: Mahatma Gandhi in 1931.
• Excerpts: Reports from English and Indian language newspapers and other contemporary writings.
• Discussion: How newspapers can be a source of history.

Unit XIV: Partition through Oral Sources

• Broad Overview:
  (a) The history of the 1940s;
  (b) Nationalism, Communalism and Partition.
• Focus: Punjab and Bengal.
• Excerpts: Oral testimonies of those who experienced partition.
• Discussion: Ways in which these have been analysed to construct the history of the event.

Unit XV: The Making of the Constitution

• Broad Overview: (a) Independence and the new nation-state. (b) The making of the Constitution.
• Focus: The Constitutional Assembly debates.
• Excerpts: From the debates.
• Discussion: What such debates reveal and how they can be analyzed.

Best Books for CUET UG History Preparation

Here are some of the best books for CUET UG History preparation that cover the syllabus well and help in scoring better. Choose 1–2 based on your level and combine them with the NCERTs for the best results.